Cookie Dough
by Miss-Stoneflower
Summary: Sora had a dilemma. it's almost Valentine's Day and Sora needs help with her cookies! She rings Tai to help her, and he shares some "wisdom" that just leads to a Valentinian surprise! Oneshot Taiora, don't like, don't read. No flames please!


Hi! I was baking cookies myself the day I started this, and I instantly thought of 'A Very Digi-Christmas' and Sora never really did make those cookies for Agumon and Tai, and Valentine's Day is a cute day so I decided to write a Taiora oneshot (well, I never write anything other than Taiora or TaixOC) about cookie dough, because I LOVE eating cookie dough. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

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Sora had a dilemma.

It was the afternoon before Valentine's Day, and Sora was making cookies. But her mother was down in the flower shop, and Sora needed another pair of hands to help her with the cookies. She couldn't call Matt, these were a surprise for him. But there was no one else to call. Sora stared at her two mixtures, which were supposed to be mixed together with an electric beater, but slowly, which meant Sora couldn't do it alone. She thought about calling some of her tennis team, but they weren't really the baking type. She also thought about the other Digidestined girls.

Yolei had too little patience to help her with cookies, and would probably overbeat the mixture. Mimi lived in America, and it was a bit of a waste of time to call her over via the Digiworld just to make cookies. Kari.....hey, that was an idea. Sora went over to the phone and dialled the Kamiya household.

"_Moshi moshi, Kari speaking."  
_"Hi Kari! Is Tai there?"  
_".......Why?"  
_"I need his help with something. It'll be fun to do with him."  
_"Sure. Tai!" _the phone changed hands. _"Yo?"  
_"Hey Tai, I was wondering if you wanted to come over and help me with something."  
_"Depends what it is."  
_"You'll see. Please? I don't know who else to call. And we barely ever hang out anymore, it'll be fun."

There was no reply for a few minutes. Sora was thinking he didn't want to, and was thinking of a way to say no politely, or at least come up with a lame excuse.

"_Sure. I'll be over there in five minutes."  
_Sora was overjoyed. "Okay, thanks, Tai. See you soon!"  
Sora went back to the kitchen and looked at her mixture. Matt had liked her cookies at Christmas, so why wouldn't he like them now? But Sora got the feeling someone else liked them too, or at least the smell.

"So these cookies are for Matt, right?"

Sora looked at the pink bird, Biyomon, who was sitting on the opposite bench.

"Yeah." Sora replied. "He'll love them, right?"  
"You're only making Matt them?"  
"Well, we do go out." Sora said.  
"Didn't you say you'd make Agumon and Tai some too?"  
Sora froze. That was right. At Christmas. She grabbed the plastic wrap and covered the two mixtures, and grabbed two new bowls.  
"I'll make two lots of cookies then."  
"So you are making them cookies."  
_Knock, knock._

"Come in!" Sora called. Tai and Agumon came into the kitchen, and Biyomon fluttered down to talk to Agumon, while Tai stared at the cooking equipment.  
"You actually trust me to help you bake?" he asked.

"It'll be fun, like I said." Sora said. "Come on."  
Tai sighed, and took off his school blazer, hanging it over the back of a chair.  
"Just to warn you, I'm not a very good baker."  
"Neither am I. I can only manage cookies."  
"What's the occasion?"  
"Tai! It's Valentine's Day tomorrow!"  
Tai's eyes widened in mock shock. "Really?"  
"Shut up. Come on, we've got a lot of work to do."  
"Just going to school on Valentine's Day is a lot of work."  
"Do you think anyone will give you anything?" Sora asked as they began to mix the flour, salt and baking soda together.  
"Not really," Tai said. "And it's a good thing too, I never return the favour on White Day."  
"How come?"  
"I don't like any of the girls that give me stuff." Tai replied. "Anyway, if you can do this baking alone, why do you need me?"  
"We make two different mixtures, but when we mix them together you need to be mixing and pouring the mixtures in together. So now we're going to shove the butter and sugar in another bowl." Sora said.  
"Yummy."  
"You eat cookie dough?"  
"Well....no. But that's because mom can't cook for toffee." Tai explained. "But sugar sounds nice...."  
"Can you get the brown sugar and white sugar from the cupboard?"

Tai wandered over to the cupboard and stared at the ingredients in there. "Why both?"  
"We need both!"  
"Then these cookies are really bad for your health." Tai said, bringing the sugars back.  
"Since when do you care?"  
"Who said I do care? Unhealthy is the best part!"

"Shut up." Sora said, tipping the sugar into the bowl. She switched on the electric beater and began to cream the butter and sugar.  
"I never did get why you 'cream' it if you don't even use cream." Tai said. Sora rolled her eyes.  
"Are you doing this on purpose?"  
"I didn't think we'd be baking."  
"Well, it's fun."  
"No it isn't."  
"With you it is."  
Tai didn't reply to that. He just looked away. The only noise that you could hear was the sound of the beater. Sora bit her lip.

_Did I insult him?__ He has been acting weird for the past month or so. At first I thought it was because of me and Matt, but he did say he was happy for us. Maybe I should've told him we'd be baking...._

"Hey Tai, are you okay?"  
"Yeah, fine." He looked back at her with a smile. "Let's get to work."  
Sora nodded, not so sure, but glad he was okay. "Sure."  
They continued with their work, and they talked about various things, like school and the Digiworld and their lives. They basically caught up, after not hanging out like that for weeks.  
"Hey Tai, you mentioned before that you don't like any of the girls that give you chocolate and stuff on Valentine's Day. But that was last year. Is there anyone you like at the moment?"  
Tai didn't reply.  
"Come on, Tai, you can tell me. We're best friends." Sora paused for a minute. "It's not a guy, is it?"  
"No!" Tai's eyes widened as he rejected that idea. "But I guess there is someone I like. But she's taken."  
Sora cocked her head to the side. "I guess that's a bit of a bummer. Who is it?"  
"Not telling."  
"Do I know her?"  
"Pretty well."  
Sora was curious. Who could it be? (A.N. She's pretty dense). They were putting the cookie dough on the trays when Tai ate some of the dough.  
"Hey!" Sora exclaimed. "It's supposed to cook first."  
"What's wrong with eating cookie dough?"  
"It's raw!"  
"So? We eat a lot of things raw – carrots, celery, etc, why not cookie dough?"  
"......You're weird."  
Tai sighed. "Look, Sora, food is like life."  
"Trust a boy to come up with something like that."  
"Sor, think about it. Vegetables, fruit, meat and bread and stuff, it's like the base of your life. Everything you live on, everything you do, every day it changes, but it's still the same kind of thing. And then you get exciting, not everyday foods, like cookie dough. It represents the full-on parts of your life. You can't live on it, but it brings cheer to your life, like going out of your comfort zone."  
"Right."  
"So, be adventurous for once."  
"For once!?"  
"At least with food. You'll like cookie dough." Tai said. "I promise."

Sora looked into the wide chocolate brown eyes. She bit her lip, but dug her finger into the mix and licked it. She pursed up her lips, not wanting to admit that he had been right.

"I was right, wasn't I?" Tai asked, his eyes glittering. Sora sighed.

"Yeah." she admitted.  
"I knew it."  
"What a great achievement for you."  
Tai laughed, and Sora had to laugh too. Biyomon ad Agumon giggled a bit at the humans.

"Do you think they're having fun?" Biyomon asked. Agumon nodded.

"Well, they're laughing. And Tai's really glad Sora invited him over. He's been meaning to invite her to our place, but he's been scared that she'll tell him she's going to hang out with Matt."  
"Why's that?"  
"I dunno, it's some weird human thing."  
"Human's are kinda confusing, though. Everything they do." Biyomon said thoughtfully. "And when Sora tells her mom that she's 'going out on a date with Matt' I don't really know what she means."  
"Yeah, when Kari asks Tai if he wants to hang out with Sora he says that Sora is doing just that. I don't get it either."  
"Do you think we should ask them?" Biyomon asked. Agumon nodded.  
"Good idea."  
They went into the kitchen and nudged their partners.

"What is it, Biyomon?" Sora asked.  
"Agumon and I were just talking, and we came across something both of you say often but we don't get what it means." Biyomon replied.  
"What is it?" Tai asked.

"What does it mean when you're 'going out on a date?'" Agumon asked. Tai and Sora looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.

"Well, it's a special saying for us humans because a date usually means that we're going to hang with our boyfriend or girlfriend." Sora explained.  
"Oh, so you and Tai are having a date now?" Agumon asked.  
Sora and Tai both went red.  
"A...Agumon, that's not what a boyfriend or girlfriend means." Tai said.  
"A boyfriend or a girlfriend is someone really close to you, someone you love." Sora said. "Dating. Matt and I are boyfriend and girlfriend."  
"Oh, because you 'love' each other?" Biyomon asked. Sora nodded. "I get it now."  
Agumon and Biyomon left the kitchen, and Sora sighed in relief.

"That was odd."  
"Yeah." Tai had gone quiet again. Sora thought he was acting kinda odd.  
"Well, we should put these in the oven." she said, placing the zillion trays in the oven.  
"How long will they take?"  
"About fifteen minutes. Not that we're eating them straight after."  
"I know, I know. But what are we supposed to do for fifteen minutes?"  
"Wait?"  
Tai groaned, and went and flopped down on the couch. Sora giggled, and went over and sat on the other couch.  
"How long do you think you can lie there for?"  
"I'll sit here the whole fifteen minutes if you give me ten thousand yen."  
Sora raised an eyebrow. "You're on. If you get up, you give me ten thousand. If you don't, I give you ten thousand, right?"  
"Right. Deal?"  
"Deal!"  
_He'll never make it,_ Sora said to herself. _He's incapable of staying still._

Fifteen Minutes Later

"And so I don't really understand the whole probability thing." Tai said. They had been talking about various things, and had ended up on the topic of maths. A subject Tai seemed to struggle with. And then the timer went off. Sora jumped up and turned it off, and took the cookies out. Then she remembered.  
"ARGH!"  
Tai stood up and went to the kitchen too. "What?"  
"I owe you ten thousand yen now!"  
Tai smirked. "Oh yeah. And you were so certain you would win, too!"  
"Oh, whatever." Sora snapped.  
"Those cookies smell nice." Agumon said, coming into the kitchen again with Biyomon.

"Stay away." Sora warned the Digimon. "They're not for you two anyway!"  
"Can't we just have one?"  
"No!"  
Sora began to put the cookies on the cooling rack. "Hey, Tai, if you go to my room there's a bag with some gift boxes in there. Can you bring me the whole bag?"  
"Sure."  
Tai went down the hall and grabbed the bag, and went back to the kitchen.  
"I don't see why you need two boxes." Tai said.  
"Well, they're two different sizes, so I bought both in case they didn't fit in one."  
"Really?"  
"I wouldn't lie to you." Technically Sora wasn't lying. She did buy two in case, and it was a good thing she did. "Would I?"  
"Not normally."  
"Exactly my point." Sora brushed her hair back and began to place the cookies in the boxes. "In the meantime, what have you been up to since we destroyed MaloMyotismon?"  
"The usual." Tai said.  
"Which is?"  
"Eating, sleeping, going to school, playing soccer, etcetera."  
"You lead such an exciting life."  
"Well, what do you do?"  
"Uhm, eat, sleep, go to school, play tennis, etcetera."  
Tai laughed. "Such a huge difference."  
"Well, I sometimes go on dates with Matt." Sora said. "But lately he's been really busy so I don't see him that much. We don't have any classes together. All my classes are with you."  
"Mmm...."  
Sora began to trace the swirly pattern on the kitchen bench. "That's why I'm making him these cookies. I want to remind him that I still exist. It's like he's forgotten me."  
"Don't say that." Tai said. "You know Matt, he doesn't have much time for the old team anymore."  
"But I'm his girlfriend." Sora pointed out. Tai nodded.  
"Don't you think it's more interesting, though? I mean, if you see him every day, wouldn't you get sick of him?"  
Sora shrugged. "I might."  
"See my point? Matt's got big plans for his future and I know it doesn't seem that he's as into you as you are into him, but he's a really lucky guy and he knows it." Tai said. "If he thought that he would be too busy for you, why would he go out with you in the first place? I know how he feels towards you, so don't go thinking he doesn't like you. You're a great girl, Sora."  
Sora looked up at Tai, who was watching her with serious eyes. After a few seconds, though, Tai turned his head away from her, going slightly red. Sora wrapped up the boxes, and held one of them out to Tai.  
"Here."  
Tai looked back, but he didn't look Sora in the face. "What's it for?"  
"Happy Valentine's Day!"  
"It's Valentine's Eve, Sora."  
"I know, but don't you think girls at school will think I'm being selfish? You know, because I'm giving cookies to two boys. I owe you and Agumon anyway."  
Tai took the box. "Thanks."

"Tai, I think it's time to go home." Agumon said. He had Tai's D-Terminal. "Kari says it's dinner time, yum-my."  
Tai smiled, and handed the box to the lizard. "Yeah." he said. He said goodbye to Sora, still not looking at her. "Thanks for the cookies."  
"No problem. And, well, thanks for the pep talk. You're a good friend, Tai. That's why you're my best friend!" Sora grinned. Tai nodded, and then he suddenly walked quickly to the door and shut it, leaving Agumon behind.  
"Huh?" Sora was confused. "What's with him?"  
"I should go after him." Agumon said. "Bye!"  
"Bye, bye." Biyomon said, and Agumon left as well. Sora bit her lip.

"Do you think it's something I said? He did act weird a few times this afternoon."  
"I'm home!" Mrs Takenouchi called, coming into the kitchen. "Was Tai over?"  
"Yeah."  
"What happened, then?"  
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.  
"Well, he looked really upset when he almost ran into me on the stairs." Mrs Takenouchi said. "That boy is always in a rush."  
"Upset? How?"

"His face was red and he looked like he'd been rubbing his eyes." Mrs Takenouchi said, putting the flowers she'd been holding in a vase on the table. "So, really upset."  
Sora cocked her head to the side. "He did leave the apartment in a rush."  
"Oh, and he left his blazer here too." Biyomon said, pointing. Sora sighed.  
"Well, I'll give it to him tomorrow."

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That night, Sora couldn't stop thinking about what her mother had said while lying in bed. Why had Tai been upset? From Mrs Takenouchi's description, it sounded like he'd been trying not to cry. Sora was replaying the entire afternoon in her mind, thinking of whenever he started acting strangely. At first Sora couldn't make a connection, but he did stop looking at her after he said all those nice things to her. And also after Sora tried to persuade him to tell her who he liked. She sat up straight. It was beginning to make sense. They'd known each other for years. Tai had always protected her. Her and Kari. Even after the Digiworld she had still been the one Tai went to for help with his schoolwork, or asked to play soccer with. And that Christmas....he did look a bit disappointed before Matt's concert. Sora thought back to that conversation.

_When I think about it, he was asking me out,_ she thought. _Maybe all this time I've been the one Tai likes. _

Sora eventually fell asleep, dreaming past events, like the Digiworld. Her alarm woke her up at the usual time, and Sora sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She swung out of bed and got into her school uniform, and brushed her hair so it was especially bouncy. She was looking at her dressing table, running her fingers over all her hair baubles, when she came across a hairclip. She smiled as she remembered, and then that smile faded as she remembered the email. She sighed. She had been a baka. She put the hairclip in her hair, and picked up her bag on her way to the kitchen.

"Morning mom." she said, dumping her bag on the table. Tai's blazer was neatly folded, and Sora put it in her bag.  
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"  
"Not really."  
"Oh, how come?"  
"I realized something last night." Sora said, putting her lunch in her bag as well.

"Which was?"  
"I think Tai's liked me for over four years. And I never noticed." she said. "There have been signs and everything, but I never saw them. I'm surprised he managed to say all those good things about Matt still liking me, any other person would've told me the opposite."  
"Well, he is a good friend."  
"I think I made him upset because I said he's a good friend. That probably drove him over the edge." Sora said. Mrs Takenouchi nodded.

"The best you can do is think about how you feel, maybe talk to him about it, ask him if it is you he likes."  
"It's Valentine's Day, mom, it's the other way around. Girls are supposed to confess to boys, not boy to girls. That's next month."  
"Isn't it either all in America? Look, give him a chance to at least tell you." Mrs Takenouchi said. "It'll bring him some peace, at least."  
Sora nodded.  
"And about the dishes you left behind, you're supposed to rinse them before I can wash them. So the bowls are still on the bench, covered in cookie dough. Now, I'm going down to open the shop. Remember to lock up on your way out."  
"Yes, mom."  
Mrs Takenouchi left, and Sora went to the bowls, digging out as much cookie dough as she could, and putting it on plastic wrap. She molded it into a large-ish circle, and wrote a message in it using a skewer.

At school, Sora was met at the front gate by Izzy and Matt. She gave Matt his box of cookies, and he looked really happy.

"Hey, thanks." he said. "I love your baking, Sora."

Sora smiled. "I'm glad." she said, but she kept watching out for Tai.  
"He's already here." Izzy said. "He was waiting here with us, but the dean called him to his office, so he might be late to class."  
Sora nodded. "Okay."  
In science, Tai came in late, and took his place next to Sora. They were having a practical session, so they were free to talk.

"What did the dean want?" Sora asked. Tai shrugged.

"Nothing."  
"Uh huh." Sora sighed, and flicked the switch on the power pack. The light bulb lit up, and Tai and Sora stared at it lazily. "Mom said she saw you on the stairs yesterday and that you looked upset. Did I say something to upset you?"  
Tai didn't reply.  
"Tai?"  
"We've finished this practical." Tai said, straightening up. "Come on, let's pack up."  
Sora sighed as she helped Tai, and they took their seats once again to write out their results.

In homeroom, Sora was finally able to talk to Tai. She went into her bag and brought out the cookie dough, and handed it to Tai. He opened it, and read the message. He looked up at her, his eyes wide. Sora smiled softly.  
"Like it says, I know. But momma said that I should at least give you a chance to tell me."  
"It's the girls confession day today, not the boys."  
"Momma also said that in America both the boys and girls confess. Who cares if it's a tradition here in Japan that only girls. A month is too long to wait, and surely it'll do both of us a huge favour."  
"....Okay, but not in here."  
"Sure. We'll go out to the field."  
They left the classroom, and went out to the large oak tree. Sora leaned against it casually.

"Do you really think this is necessary?" Tai asked. "I mean, you already know."  
"Yeah, but I want to hear you say it."  
"This is torture. And what if Matt finds out?" he asked, still asking questions. "He trusts me as a friend to stay away from you."  
"Why didn't you tell him, though?"  
"I..." Tai looked down. "I didn't want to break up the team, to start a fight."  
"Even if it meant your happiness?"  
"As long as everyone else is happy, I'm happy." Tai said quietly. "I'm the leader. It's what I do."  
"Tai, you gotta know that just because everyone else is happy, doesn't mean that-"  
"I love you, Sora." Tai interrupted. He still didn't look at her. Sora blinked at him. That, she had not been expecting. Like, yes, but love? In fact, Sora wasn't sure if Matt had said that to her before.  
"Tai, I..." Sora trailed off. She had nothing to say, not really.

"I think I might've loved you for the past..." Tai counted on his hand. "Uh, five years."  
That was a long time. When they were eleven. That explained everything from the Digiworld to the Christmas concert. Sora was still tongue-tied. What were you supposed to say to someone who said they loved you? She couldn't say 'I love you too', because she was dating Matt. Hold on, why did she even think of saying that? She felt kind of light, too. Maybe, she did love Tai. Deep down. She just didn't know it. She was too busy liking Matt that she didn't think that maybe she loved Tai.

"_Sor, think about it. Vegetables, fruit, meat and bread and stuff, it's like the base of your life. Everything you live on, everything you do, every day it changes, but it's still the same kind of thing. And then you get exciting, not everyday foods, like cookie dough. It represents the full-on parts of your life. You can't live on it, but it brings cheer to your life, like going out of your comfort zone."  
_Matt was safe, Sora knew that he was calm and valued friendship. But Sora was the one who made the first move. What if Matt was just vegetables and fruit? He was safe because if anything happened, which it wouldn't, the team would break up. But Tai's like the cookie dough she tried. If anything happened, it probably wouldn't break up the team, but there was the high chance that it would. He was out of her comfort zone, the cookie dough of her life. But like the previous day, Sora hadn't tried cookie dough. She'd tried vegetables and fruit and meat and tofu, which ell under the same category. The food of her life that were holding her back from exciting food. Sora sighed. This food analogy was weird, her mind was going all kinds of ways. Then Sora noticed that Tai had sat down. His head was still lowered, and Sora tilted her head to the left. She understood now. Just because he didn't have the crest of friendship, Tai was a great friend. And it had to have taken a lot of courage to stick up for Matt the previous afternoon. Sora knew where her heart lay now, and she had cookie dough to thank for it.  
"Tai?" No answer. "This is going to shock you, but, I think, no, I know, that, well, I...I....I'm in love with you, too."  
Tai looked up straight away. He looked bewildered.  
"Is this some kind of prank?" he asked.

"You said Valentine's Day was the day girls confessed to boys. So I am." Sora said. She sat down next to Tai. "I guess it was a little uncalled for, I mean, I'm still going out with Matt. But your food analogy really helped. You're cookie dough. Matt's a vegetable (A.N. Okay, I kind of dislike Matt, that's why I called him a vegetable)."  
Tai laughed at that. "Yeah, sorry about that."  
"No, I'm glad. And I really do love you, Tai. I like Matt, but that's just liking. I really, truly, honestly feel that you're where my crest is pointing me too. You're more than a good friend, Tai. You're a great friend."  
She hugged him, much to Tai's surprise, but he hugged her back.  
"I would kiss you, but like you said, you're still going out with Matt. You don't wanna be called a cheater, would you?"  
Sora shook her head. "Well, we should head to the cafeteria."  
"I agree. I'm starved."  
"Me too. Thinking about that food analogy really made me hungry."

"Want some cookie dough?"  
"Not very filling."  
"Still tastes good. By the way, those cookies were delicious."  
"Really?"  
"I assume so. Agumon ate them all."  
"Ehhh?"  
"He had the box, and while I was busy trying to divert my mind from what happened yesterday afternoon, he pigged out on them."  
"Well, I can always make some more."  
"Sounds good."  
"Matt might share, too."  
"Still sounds good."  
"You just want a cookie, don't you?"  
"Yeah."  
"Hahaha."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, didn't end exactly how I planned it to. Let's just say I was going to put White Day in there, but I changed my mind. So, technically Sora and Matt are still together, but Sora only likes Matt and she loves Tai. It's still a Taiora in my eyes!

R&R please!


End file.
